My life on the run
by born to lose 7
Summary: Sydney Sage is stressed. Being on the run with two vampires and two half-vampires isn't exactly helping. Oh, and did I mention what she's running for? Her life. Hiatus. Check Tumblr blog for information.
1. action star

My feet collided with the pavement in a quick, consistent rhythm. They weren't in sync with the others but when you were running for your lives, I didn't think it mattered too much. I was panting since I wasn't used to running this much, or this fast. I didn't even know who I was running from at the moment. I was hoping it was the Alchemists, or even Strigoi, which would be easier to deal with. I heard a voice, obviously female, muttering an incantation in Latin.

I swore.

Rose and Dimitri turned simultaneously, both ready to take on the threat. They started rushing toward the woman, and in that instant, I knew I couldn't let them do that. Their quick physical attacks would mean nothing against the potential magical power that this woman possessed. I grit my teeth and muttered out an incantation of my own, this one in Italian. My arms spread out automatically, palms facing toward my companions. A purple misty wall formed in front of them and blasted everyone twenty feet back. I heard some grunts and groans of pain, but I couldn't focus on that now. A large bench was hurtling towards me. Annoyed that I couldn't just dodge it for fear of it hitting my friends, I focused my energy on blocking the bench. It stopped about a feet from me and dropped harmlessly on the ground. I wasted no time on dashing forwards, jumping over the wooden bench and summoning a large blue fireball to hurtle towards the witch's face. She deflected it, but was momentarily distracted by the flame. That was all I needed. As soon as it was diffused she found herself tackled to the ground, courtesy of me. I pinned her down and pressed my thumb in the middle of her forehead. I felt the magic swirl up inside of me again and a blue glow coursed out of my thumb. Her alarmed, wide green eyes closed, but not of their own my command but because of my spell. If done right, she should be unconscious for a day or so and have no memory of the day before this was cast. The immediate threat dealt with, I got up and ran, unsteadily, towards my friends. They were closer than they should've been, but I would have run over to investigate if I had been in their shoes. They were all staring me gape-mouthed and alarmed. Everyone but Adrian, Adrian was staring at me with a mix of pride and worry.

The attacker was down, but I wasn't reassured. There could be more, or worse, I could have messed up the spell. We needed to move, _now_.

"Who here can hotwire a car?" I asked, a little desperately when I reached them.

"I can." Dimitri managed to say through his shock and confusion. I nodded.

"Rose, Adrian you're with me. Christian, go with Dimitri. Meet us at the motel in the next city. Grab a car that will be able to transport all of us." This way we would have a guardian in each group. I guess it didn't matter which Royal went with whom, but I preferred travelling with Adrian over Christian.

We went our separate ways. We were back to running, but I was tired from the magic use and was holding us back. Rose and Adrian had no problem hooking their arms around mine and practically dragging me forward. Yes, Rose was shocked, but she was used to working under conditions such as these. She had also seen her fair share of impossible things in her life time. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a Honda civic. Small, beige, suitable for four, and best of all unmemorable and easily disposable. I got to work as soon as possible and quickly and efficiently hotwired the car. Rose and Adrian had gotten in the car as soon as the doors were unlocked so I had my foot on the gas the very moment I closed the car door.

I had to convince myself to drive the speed limit as not to attract attention to myself. I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough it seemed to be as if the muscled brunette witch was the only person that was sent. Horrible plan. That was better for me though; it meant that today was going to be a little less stressful. My eyes were focused solely on the road, illuminated only by my headlights. Since we were out in the quiet countryside it was pretty much pitch black at this hour. No one seemed keen on interrupting the silence, which was just as well, I needed to focus. Exhaustion was grabbing hold of me and anything that deprived me of energy could very well lead to a nasty crash.

Once I was sure that we were within a comfortable walking distance from the motel I pulled over.

"Out." I ordered.

"Why?" Rose asked. A small smile spread over my lips.

"I'm going to do a little off-roading. Don't wait for me. "

They were quick to obey. I pulled away and drove into the woods that were off to the left side of the street. I was considerably deep into the woods when I pressed on the brakes and got out. I couldn't survey the damage in the dark but I winced to think of the damages that were done. The small car wasn't meant for the rough journey I had just put it through. Luckily, this whole time I had been planning to dispose of it. I felt around the insides of my purse. I threw the components that had dissolved Marcus's window. This one was a bit more powerful though. I heard a sizzle and smelt burning metal, meaning I hit my mark. Satisfied, I fished my dying phone out of my purse. I used it as a makeshift flashlight and navigated my way out of the woods with the help of the tracks the car had made. I looked around, no sign of my partners in crime. Good. They had listened to me.

Trekking toward the hotel was very difficult, since my body was desperately craving food and rest. I found a solution to my hunger quickly. Along the way, I spotted a McDonald's and cast an invisibility spell, I then wandered into the back and managed to sneak some large bags full of food and stuffed about a dozen of bottles of whatever was available in the fridge into another bag I had stolen. I also managed to sneak out easily, thanks to the noise of diverse chit-chat amongst colleagues and the sound of machines running. It also helped that while invisible, whatever objects I touched turned invisible as well. Nothing alive though, I had already tried with Adrian, it didn't work. As soon as I was out of sight, I deactivated the spell and was once again visible.

I got to the front desk and found myself with a dilemma. I didn't know how to find them. Yes, I could go around shouting at them, or knock on every door but that would draw attention to me. The man at the desk would probably give out the information, if I bribed him. Seeing as I had no money, the plan was useless. I walked up and tried my best bet.

"Excuse me; is there someone under the name of Jet Steele here?"

"Room 7" He said lazily.

I nodded and thanked him, not that he noticed. I walked and looked at the numbers on each door. They were all faded, but still visible to some extent. I murmured each number to myself as I saw them. One, two, three, four, five, six and seven. I wondered if I should just barge in or knock. Knocking seemed like a better plan so it was the one I went with. I had to juggle my many bags to manage it but I eventually got one hand free to do so. Thanks to superior vampire hearing, the door was open the very moment my fist made contact with the door. I nearly fell to the floor, but a pale hand reached out to steady me. I dragged up my eyes to meet the impossibly green ones of Adrian. I nearly collapsed in relief,_ right room,_ I thought. I was in, so the door was closed.

The four of them were all there, both Dhampirs standing and Christian sitting on the ground. I didn't blame him. I didn't even want to know what kind of people were on that ratty old couch before us, or what they did. It was small for the five of us, but we couldn't really afford anything luxurious right now. They all looked relieved when they saw me but I couldn't think right now. I sat down, leaning my back against the green door. I plunged my hand into one of the takeout bags and took out a couple of burgers. I aggressively tore open the wrapper of the burger and bit into it. I didn't pause for breath until I was halfway through my second burger. I reached out my hand for the drinks and luckily found some orange juice. I wrestled off the cap and tipped my head back; my lips attached to the rim of the bottle and drank greedily. I didn't look up or communicate until I finished off my beverage and my burger. Feeling a little more energized I uncrossed my legs and stretched out my tense limbs. Rose and Dimitri looked surprised at my vicious eating episode, Adrian was comforted that I had my blood sugar back up to normal levels and that I returned without any severe bodily damage, Christian looked at me and smirked.

"Hungry, much?" He said.

With the silence broken, reckless Rose had no problem coming forth with the question on their minds.

"What the hell was that?"

"A burger. McDonald's, figured you'd appreciate food." I answered, deadpan.

"No! You know what I mean. When you were fighting that person. Doing, uh, weird stuff."

"Weird stuff?" I wanted to know how much she knew. Revealing that I was a magic user wasn't something I enjoyed doing. I would like to avoid it, if possible.

"You were muttering and we got blasted back and, and you looked like you threw a fire ball and a bench was flying and then in stopped and the person was randomly unconscious!" She sputtered out.

A little too late, I realized that there was a million ways to render someone unconscious without magic. However, they probably wouldn't have lost twenty four hours of their memory. But still, I had to conserve energy, wasting it on frivolous spells wasn't helping anyone.

Rose had seen everything, which meant unfortunately that I actually had to explain everything. Everyone was looking at me expectantly, even Adrian. Though probably for a different reason. When we first went on the run, we decided we'd only inform them of the Alchemists and skip over all of the 'witchy stuff'. Adrian was a bit uncomfortable with it, but had agreed. He was probably glad that the truth was going to come out. I swept my eyes over everyone and looked to the ground, unable to meet anyone's gaze. I fidgeted with my hands and figured I'd take the very direct approach.

"I'm a magic user. I'm one of the few humans that can use magic."

No one spoke; it was kind of hard to do so with your jaw on the ground. Even stoic Dimitri was looking at me with disbelief.

"You saw it. You saw it with your own eyes. I blasted you guys back, I stopped that bench. I created and threw that fireball. I used a spell that knocked her unconscious and took away her memory of the twenty four hours before. Which means she won't remember our location, and if she does, well we'll already be somewhere else by the time she regains consciousness." I added, feeling defensive. I didn't mention the car melting and the food stealing, they had enough proof already. I had the urge to add _you're welcome_, but well, the only reason they were here was to help protect me.

"Are you serious? Like us?" Christian asked.

"No. Not like Moroi. Like humans. Or, er, magic users." I clarified. No matter how comfortable I was around them, I wasn't thrilled at being referred to as _one of them_.

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that your magic works the opposite way. Your magic goes from the inside out. Mine comes from the outside in. There's a lot of effort involved, it drains you of energy, requires a great amount of concentration and precise calculation. Moroi wield a sort of internal magic. You connect with it on a very basic, practically effortless level. I, as a human, don't have that connection. It also makes my blood sugar drop . The amount of energy drained varying on the amount of magic I use and the difficulty of the spell. Hence, the intense hunger. "I concluded, almost echoing Ms. Terwilliger when she had first explained magic to me.

They didn't look as doubtful as before, but they were still cautious.

"Prove it." Christian once again spoke. I almost considered throwing him across the room to make my point, but I didn't. I looked around.

"See that glass on the counter?" My question was met with affirmative nods and murmurs. I made a small hand gesture and it exploded, shards flying to the space around.

Everyone seemed impressed and scared, well except Adrian. He looked a little smug, since he knew something that the others didn't. I didn't think that happened to him a lot. Just in case they didn't believe me I also created a blue fireball the size of a soccer ball in the palm of my hand. If they had any doubts before, they were long gone now. They looked at each other, and none knew how to respond.

"She's a prodigy. The others aren't usually this scary."

"Adrian! I am not scary." I protested.

"Which is why they're all wearing matching expressions of 'Oh, shit'." He retorted flatly.

"You were fine with it when I told you."

"Well it wasn't like you were throwing fire around the first time you told me. That came after, not that I'm complaining… it's kinda hot."

"Hot? Fire? Seriously, Adrian?" He was making puns?

He opened his mouth to speak, a michevious glint in his eyes but was interrupted by a deep voice laced with light Russian accent.

Dimitri was the first to grasp the concept of me being a magic user and interrupted our banter.

"Okay, you use magic. Was that woman a magic user as well?"

"Yes."

"Why was she after you?"

"It's a long story."

"We've got time."

**A/N: Ok, quick question. How many of you authors spend hours after writing narrating your own thoughts and actions? Or is it just me? Anyway, since The Indigo Spell is out I've decided to abandon my fic. I'm starting this one since inspiration had been poking my forehead for a while and today had come prepared with a hammer and whacked me across the head. The Indigo Spell was amazing wasn't it? I spent a lot of time staring at it, hardly believing my eyes. Unfortunately being a quick reader means a longer wait for The Fiery Heart. After I finished the last page, I closed it and started reading it again. Yes, I began as soon as I finished the first time. Now another question, should I make this a collection of one-shots of them being on the run or into a multi chapter fic with a chronological order? Leave in the reviews please! I hope you like it! Oh and this will DEFINITELY be a two part thing. It makes no sense otherwise. Leave reviews please! They make me happy!**

**Disclaimer: We already know what I don't own so use your imagination to make something ridiculous and witty. **


	2. cold burgers

**A/N: I've decided to make this a multi-chapter fic due to popular request. I hope you bear with me, this isn't really my strong point. However, I will continue one shots on the side under Pies and Stuff though they won't be inspired by quotes by TIS, the rest will simply be one shots! Thank you so much for the reviews and follows and favorites! I love feedback though so if you have time to review I will probably be much quicker on my updates… I love to know what you think of the story! I'll try to update weekly at the very least. It'll probably be every Thursday or Sunday. Depending on when I get the next chapter up.**

Sighing, I sat down and began to tell the gang about Alicia. I told them about her fight with me and Adrian and how I hadn't actually killed her. Of course, someone had to interrupt me at some point. These people weren't used to patiently sitting around. It would be nice if they at least tried to keep quiet, telling people stories was much less stressful when people didn't start quizzing you on things you didn't know.

"Wait. So you're saying that this woman that tried to kill you is still walking around?" Rose asked.

"And you pissed her off and stabbed her multiple times in the face?" Christian jumped in.

"It was self-defence! And it was the spell that sent multiple shards of glass towards her; I didn't go up and start assaulting her."

"Was that her?" Christian persisted in his questioning.

"What?"

"The witch back there."

"No! Oh, that would have been way too easy. I'm willing to bet she has people working for her though. I think that was one of her 'friends'."

"Why would they be after you though?" Dimitri asked.

"Maybe she has a big enough grudge to get help to, uh, seek revenge?" I tried.

"That doesn't make sense. They would need another motive. No one, even her followers, would waste their time chasing down someone for no reason other than petty revenge." Dimitri said, thinking aloud.

"She did say she was a prodigy." Rose cut in.

"No, that wouldn't be enough. Alicia even said that Sydney was a spark compared to a powerful witch's flame. No offense, what you do is still impressive." Adrian remarked, speaking for the first time.

"Maybe she offered them something else?" I wondered. Under my breath I muttered: "There has to be, there's no other reason for them to be after me."

I suddenly felt stupid; I was making myself seem way more important than I really was. I was becoming arrogant; I knew I was good, but not _that _good. Either way, I was tired of discussing theories with the group.

"Does it really matter? It's just another group to avoid. I can handle it." I insisted. It didn't seem like they believed me, but they didn't want to delve into this any more than I did. Even Adrian looked a bit doubtful. I think the only reason that one of them hadn't stepped in and started ordering people around and telling me I was wrong was because they had no idea as to how to deal with problems involving witches.

"How the hell did you get involved in this Adrian?" Rose asked, rather rudely.

"Right place, right time. Then she needed me to make sure she didn't faint when she did spells. Also, moral support. I'm awesome at that. I was like a life coach, but for magic, either way, I was awesome." Adrian supplied. It confused everyone, everyone except me of course. Well, I understood most of it, and when it comes to Adrian that was a huge accomplishment. I decided to elaborate.

"When Sonya got kidnapped I had an idea of how to find her. It required magic, like Adrian said; he was at the right place at the right time. I asked him for a ride and then had to tell him all about it. After that, I needed Adrian to conceal my appearance with spirit, and help with some espionage. I did ask him to come with me when I was casting spells because a lot of things could go wrong and half the time I had no idea what result I would get from the spell. So in short, yes Adrian was there for moral support." I didn't mention that he was also there because magic scared me before. They had no need to know about my past fears.

"And I did a kick-ass job. I was there, helping Sage, saving lives, defeating evil witches, offering my awesome wisdom, et cetera." Adrian bragged, it was always a bit amusing that Adrian always found a way to embellish whatever happened in his life, no matter how mundane it was. He never forgot to be arrogant either, promoting himself to be god-like and amazing. I was used to it by now and didn't think of engaging him into a useless argument by disagreeing with him. That _was_ what he wanted. Others weren't as lenient about him bragging about things he either didn't do, or didn't intend to do.

"Please, you were probably just bored." Christian snorted.

"Oh, so that's the thanks I get? But, I get it, you weren't there. Sage was, and she agrees with me, right?" Adrian replied, glancing back at me and made a large sweeping motion that gestured to me. He wasn't going to get me involved **that** easily.

"No comment." I called out dryly. He didn't seem to mind. Christian started to speak, looking triumphant at my denial of Adrian's gallant actions, even if I hadn't confirmed anything.

"Uh, Uh. That's a yes." Christian looked outraged at this. Adrian had taken advantage of my neutral comment as well. Of course he did, or else there wouldn't be anything else to talk about.

"But-she-said- didn't" He sputtered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be useful someday. Maybe. Actually, I'm not sure you're cut out for this. Go look for a desk job." Adrian instructed.

"_I'm_ not cut out for this? You're the one that spends most of his time styling his hair and looking at himself in the mirror."

"Hey, every action movie has an amazing looking actor as the star. I soo fit that part. It's not always easy, though. Being this attractive, I have to fight off hordes of people. Besides, you're too gangly and pale to be in an action movie."

"You're one to talk! You're Moroi too! We have the same- oh, what the hell am I saying. This isn't an action movie!"

"Sage, please explain this to him." He strode over to stand behind me. A few moments later he muttered. "Amateurs." And hid his face in his hand, faking exasperation.

"Adrian has a multiple personality disorder; every time he's stressed he pretends he's a famous actor. It's almost impossible to convince him otherwise when he's like this. The best thing to do is to just play along." I lied smoothly.

"Sage, you just lied and made fun of a serious mental illness, what do you think you're teaching our child?" He asked tone light and playful.

By child, I assume he meant our miniature dragon, Hopper. I had summoned under instructions from Ms. Terwilliger, even though I had no idea what the spell would bring me. She didn't inform me of what I was summoning, or anything else on that particular spell. If she had, the Callistana would have only formed a bond with me, but since I had brought Adrian along… it regarded us as its parents. As a result, we had walked away with shared custody of Hopper. As always, Adrian seemed to find something amusing in our situation and repeatedly called it our 'dragon love child'. With all the magic talk going on, I was kind of surprised it wasn't brought up. I resisted the urge to reach into my purse and find the stone that transformed into the dragon on my command.

"Child?" Rose lifted an eyebrow in question. I couldn't help but blush.

"Inside joke" I mumbled.

Adrian was wacky enough that no one questioned my explanation. I knew we would have to tell them eventually, but not right now. We would also have to tell them about our relationship, but we weren't keen on their reactions. So it, like my magical abilities were put on hold. To me, it didn't seem like a big deal. It wasn't like he could stop and take me for a romantic walk on the beach while we were being chased by people who wanted me dead or locked away.

It was a bit ironic that our relationship was the most forbidden thing in the alchemist world, yet it wasn't what had exposed me. It was that I had unnecessarily helped my 'creatures of the night' friends one too many times. Zoe had picked up on this, and had betrayed me. She was being loyal to the Alchemists though, so I hoped that she would be happy with her lot in life. I sincerely did. Because the alternative to that was a life like mine, or like Marcus's and his Merry men. I didn't want that for her. Hell, I didn't even want that for me.

I had found out when I saw a bunch of Alchemists by Amberwood. Zoe was with them and looked nervous. They motioned me to pull over, since I was driving along the road in my new car. I did. I was hoping that they weren't dragging me to Re-education. They were. And when I was sure of that, I ran. I ran to the car, with only my purse, the clothes on my back and whatever I had in my car. Which was close to nothing, I always kept my car clean and usually didn't leave anything unnecessary in the car. I called Adrian, and thinking back to it… I applauded him on being so calm. I was sure I made no sense back then. I was a flurry of nerves and incomprehensible words. He basically told me to meet him at Pies and Stuff and sit down, shut up and let him get help. He arrived, with a rental car. He told me that he had called Rose and Dimitri, since they owed me for helping them when Rose had been accused of murdering the queen. Christian wasn't supposed to be there. But for some reason, when we had met up at a nondescript, comfy coffee shop he was there. Rose and Dimitri weren't quite sure why he was there, in fact, no one was. But he could be useful; he had the ability to manipulate fire, which could get us out of some scrapes. Especially if we ran into some Strigoi.

After I was done thinking about the events leading up to this, I realized I had a question for the Dhampirs.

"What will happen? To your statuses as guardians, I mean." I asked.

"Lissa knows about it, she'll have more guardians. There are no shortages for the queen. I'm really just on a vacation." She said smugly.

"A vacation?" I asked.

"A vacation, for an indefinite period of time, or something like that." She confirmed. She then retreated into her own thoughts. I was sure the queen wasn't happy about giving up one of her best guardians, as well as her best friend. I was sure that Rose had to do a lot of smooth talking and use a whole bunch of her 'Rose-logic' to get her to agree to it.

"I'm technically still guarding Christian." Dimitri added.

"Couldn't get time off?" Was the question that no one asked. It would've been nice to see if the reason that the blue-eyed Moroi was with us was because Dimitri had no choice. I doubted it though. Dimitri would've found a way to get a 'vacation' to keep his charge safe. It was a wonder Dimitri didn't lock up Christian back at court to stop him from joining us on our trip.

"Is everyone all right?" I asked. I was worried that I had hurt them when I had blasted them back. Unsurprisingly, everyone said yes.

Little was said after that. Everyone grabbed some food from the bag and ate. There were enough drinks for everyone, which was convenient since the water from the bathroom sink was brown. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't have trusted it. The pipes looked rusted, from what I could see. I didn't dare lie down and check. It was too dirty for that. After that, we all sat down and discussed our next plan of action. We would stay here for tonight and move on tomorrow. I couldn't say I was upset at the idea of leaving. We would take the car Dimitri stole. I thought back to the Civic. The poor thing. That was someone's car and I hoped that they could afford another one. I wouldn't have liked to been in their place. Even though I had been, multiple times. Every car that I've loved, I've had to abandon at some point, The red hurricane, Latte, even the Ivashkinator among other beautiful cars. Some women had guy problems, mine were car problems.

We planned to drive a few states over. We would go there and stay at a small hotel. A nice one, until we had another plan of action. So far, I didn't think this whole thing that hard. It was almost like the Alchemists wanted us to go rogue. We were practically trained for it. For years now, I had spent my time being woken up at strange hours, having to constantly fake my identity, trying to avoid attracting attention to myself and convincing others that they didn't see what they think they did. I could talk my way out of almost anything. This wasn't such a big leap for me. Everyone settled down to sleep, while Rose volunteered to keep watch.

Once I was in the clutches of sleep, I felt myself being dragged into a spirit dream.

**A/N:** **So, what do you think? I meant to update sooner but since I have a cold I spent my time either half-dead or in class. On Saturday, it was my birthday. WHICH MEANT BOOKS AND LOTS OF THEM! I'M AMAZED THAT I WAS ABLE TO TEAR MYSELF AWAY FROM THEM TO WRITE! Please leave reviews! The amount I got last time kept me happy for DAYS. Anyway, who else is excited for the cover reveal of **_**The Fiery Heart?**_** I can't wait to start imagining it in bookstores! I might start a tumblr to keep you updated on my work, I'm still deliberating. I'll try to update weekly though, so no fear! **

**Disclaimer: Standard. You know exactly what I don't own. **


	3. Cigarette break

I was in a garden. It wasn't familiar, but it was beautiful.

There were stone walkways that snaked around triangular fields of grass, and on the grass were different geometrical shapes that were lined with equally green hedges. Inside of the hedge lined shapes were beautiful flowers of different colours: pink, purple, yellow… There were even some trees planted among some of the fields of flowers and an angelic statue in another. It was beautiful, and strangely organized. The flowers of the same type were all grouped together.

I looked down at my attire. Thankfully, it was something I would usually wear; a pair a jeans and a light blue button up shirt. Judging by the location of the spirit dream I already had an idea of who had pulled me into the dream. It turns out, my guess was correct.

"Hello Sydney" Sonya was right behind me, admiring the garden as I was.

"Hi" I replied, and tried to stop myself from immediately demanding information. My expression must have hinted at my anxiety because Sonya let out a light laugh and looked at me with a calm and slightly amused expression.

"They're fine. Jill is still safely in hiding and Eddie, Neil and Angeline are still as determined as ever to keep her that way." I nodded.

"And my sister?" I asked, unable to help myself. Even if she _had_ turned me in, she had done it with good intentions. All she knew was what the alchemists have told her. All she believed was whatever she heard from them. She was trying to help me, to 'save my soul'. As brainwashed as she was, she was still my sister and I still loved her.

"She's alright…she misses you though. They're sending another alchemist. One of at least eighteen to supervise and sign things." Sonya replied. She kept it vague, but I could just imagine how Zoe was feeling. Confused, angry, sad and most of all _betrayed._ The last time I saw Zoe was when I had been sentenced to re-education. She looked so… conflicted. She knew that by alchemist standards I was corrupt. But she didn't want me to be, didn't want to believe that her big sister was associating with monsters. I was glad she hadn't seen me and Adrian, which might have made her hate me. That was something I wasn't prepared for.

I was glad they were sending someone with more experience though, they would look after her, in their way. My sister wouldn't be as petrified with another human in the mix.

"That's good." I replied, and was humiliated that my voice cracked. I gulped and took deep breaths.

"What about you? Everything going well?" Sonya asked tentatively.

"Fine. We had a run in earlier with… someone. Everything is alright now. Nothing to worry about."

Yes, nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

"I have to go…" She stated abruptly, shifting from side to side, looking distinctly uncomfortable. It hit me all of a sudden. She was using a lot more of spirit these days, and considering how she purposely decided to become a Strigoi, using too much must be frightening for her.

"Oh, of course. Thanks Sonya."

"Goodbye Sydney."

I tried to fight my disappointment as the dream ended. Unfortunately, instead of going back to sleep I woke up. It was still dark and everyone but Dimitri was asleep. He and Rose must have switched at some point during the night. I didn't move or yawn or stretch and turned. I was face down against a pillow and staring at it. Then, I was still. After a while it was clear that I wasn't going to get anymore sleep, so I settled for running through my thoughts. Something that I hadn't had the time to do lately, these days it was just, move,_ move, MOVE._

I was thankful Sonya was informing me about my friends, but it would have been really nice to share a spirit dream with Adrian. We had been unable to do anything that normal couples would do because that would raise suspicion of our companions. I missed it; I missed kissing him and missed it when he threw an arm around me for no reason and drew me close to him. He still flirted with me, though it was a lot less suggestive that it was normally. It was a lot more general rather than his usual personalized remarks. He didn't call me Miss I'm a quick study and instead opted for a dramatic darling, which was clearly meant as a joke. He was making it look like the only reason that he was flirting with me was for the sake of flirting. On the other hand, there was no way that I was going to let him risk his mental health for my selfish reasons. I didn't want him to use more Spirit than he had to. I worried too much when he did.

I thought back to Sonya and how grateful I was. When I had to leave Palm Springs it was clear to me that I couldn't bring Jill, for obvious reasons. It made no sense to recruit her guardians, and then she wouldn't be protected. On top of that, I doubted that I could persuade any of them to help me. They were dedicated to their jobs. I still worried though; they technically weren't my responsibility anymore, but they were my friends. Luckily, Sonya had heard about the huge fiasco that had occurred when I had nearly been caught and made up some excuse about Spirit research to head over. She had been checking up weekly to inform me of their well-being ever since.

Soon enough the sun begun to rise and Dimitri went around waking everyone up. I pretended to be tired and half-coherent like any human would be when they first woke up, but it was hard when I had been awake for hours. Everyone stretched, glad to get rid of the kinks that we had acquired from sleeping in such a cramped space.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, and very much like supper. We ate cold burgers and sat around, no one really trying to make small talk. After that we left the hotel and went to the parking lot. I eyed the car that Dimitri had 'borrowed' . It was nice enough, I supposed, but it wasn't a classic car or a chic sports car, that was for certain. Still, it would have to do. It was a silver 2005 Toyota Highlander, a large enough car with enough seats to easily hold us all. I started to head toward the car and noticed everyone was lagging behind, watching me, and looking nervous. I didn't know why and didn't know how to address people when you were about to get into a stolen vehicle. I didn't think small-talk was appropriate. So I looked toward the Highlander and nodded in approval.

"Good car. Nice choice." I called out. There was audible sighs of relief and the tense atmosphere relaxed. I was confused by that. Was the lack of communication making everyone jumpy? It seemed my few words had calmed everyone down. Adrian strolled by and lightly tapped the side of the car.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"I gave it the Sage stamp of approval. Available only for vehicles of the automobilic nature." He announced. I didn't bother telling him that automobilic wasn't a word.

The ride was long. It seemed longer than it actually was thanks to Adrian and his ADD like symptoms. He kept trying to make pointless conversation with the occupants of the car, which did not go over well since everyone was still grouchy from the mediocre amount of sleep we got. The arrival at the hotel was something that almost made me break out into the Hallelujah chorus. I'm sure the others were feeling similarly. The hotel was small and favoured the colour beige. There was even a dining room. We checked in and scored a couple of nice rooms. They each had double beds, a small refrigerator, a coffee maker, a bathroom, a couch and a flat screen TV.

Briefly, I hoped that I could room with Adrian. I quickly squashed that hope though. The Guardians would go with a buddy system. Since, they thought I was practically a nun, I shared my room with the only female, Rose. Christian, Adrian and Dimitri would share the other, and I guessed that Dimitri would sleep on the couch.

No one really wanted to stay holed up in our rooms and order room service, so it was agreed that we would go eat in the dining room. It was getting dark and we were able to see the stars peeking out from the few windows by the dining room which overlooked the parking lot. We stood out from the sharply dressed customers and waiters in our jeans and t-shirts, but we didn't care. We ordered the cheapest things on the menu. I didn't have any money, but the others had a fair supply since they were given more notice than I. However, we weren't eager to run out of our cash. The food was alright, not bad but not extraordinary, and yet it seemed like haute-cuisine compared to the cold greasy food from this morning. Sometime during the meal Adrian stood up to leave for a smoke. I was suddenly struck with an idea. The exit and the washrooms were both secluded from the dining area and were practically invisible. Minutes later, I excused myself to go to the washroom. I hoped I wasn't too obvious. The rational part of my brain told me they wouldn't suspect anything if they hadn't been able to guess the romantic nature of my relationship with Adrian.

I walked slowly, evenly to the exit of the dining hall. Then, once I knew I was out of sight, I made my way to the nearest exit. He wasn't near the doors but a little off to the side. Luckily, he was putting out his cigarette. He started to walk back, not seeing me yet, but as I strolled passed him I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. I dragged him over a corner, leaning my back against it. Then I got a hold of the other side of his collar and righted him. I roughly pulled him down so I could join my lips to his before he could say a word.

He hesitated briefly, the way he always did when I surprised him, but then his passion returned. He kissed me thoroughly and roughly and gently all at the same time. I missed this, I really did and judging by the passion that Adrian put in to our kisses, so did he. Unconsciously, my hands drifted up and were knotted in his hair. His hands were around my waist pulling me closer, and closer. As close as we could possibly get. Then he lead me backwards onto the rough brick wall and his hands slowly glided to my hips. Then one hand went to my thigh, and went lower until it hooked under my knee. Eagerly, I wrapped it around Adrian's waist and he repeated the same process with the other leg. This time, I went a little slower, so that I wouldn't break the kiss or bump my face into Adrian's. I was successful, all was managed without breaking the kiss. And oh, what a kiss it was. It felt wonderful to be wrapped in his arms again, to wrap my arms around him to feel his lips against mine. So rough but so soft all at the same time. He tasted like cigarettes but that didn't bother me. As long as he kissed me like that, like he loved me, I didn't care. I couldn't help but smile against his lips. It reminded me of some nights ago,when…

"What the hell?"

**A\N: You have no idea how much I wanted to put a cliff hanger in there, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry that it was late but I was having a case of writers block and I had a lot of work to catch up on. Are you glad to finally get some Sydrian? Because it is kind of hard to work them in, since the gang is sticking together and they don't know about them, which is also why there is less banter. I have a tumblr, by the way. It's my personal tumblr but I will inform you of chapter updates and maybe even give a few sneak peeks at my chapters. It will be linked in my bio. Anyway I would like to thank MoonlightPath666, aquablu23, Guest, FieryHeart, threewishesgiven and mouse for reviewing my last chapter. To Fieryheart, I would like to thank you for your suggestions, which I might incorporate into the story. (I don't know what I'm going to do half the time, with vague outlines and sometimes I even change the outlines) and you guessed some of my plans for the story that I've had since the beginning! I won't tell you which though. Plus, all will be answered in time. Thanks for the birthday wishes guys!**

**Links to the garden: wiki/File:Elizabethan_Gardens_-_sunken_garden_ **

**Links to the car:** ** .ca/imgres?hl=en&biw=943&bih=540&tbm=isch&tbnid=sa5iNq5QfE0AhM:&imgrefurl= toyota/2005-highlander_hybrid/1024x768/wallpaper_ &docid=Dvio1GAqTgyJCM&imgurl= Toyota-Highlander_Hybrid_2005_1024x768_wallpaper_ &w=1024&h=768&ei=H5Q7Ud7XH6XZ2QWatoGICQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:104&iact=rc&dur=1735&page=1&tbnh=191&tbnw=259&start=0&ndsp=6&tx=221&ty=327**

**REVIEWS make me really happy, so if you could take some of your free time and write down a little feedback it would be greatly appreciated. **

**Thanks so much for reading! Bye 3**


	4. It's a boy

"What the hell?" A voice called out. I froze. Adrian was also immobile, scarcely breathing. It only took us a second for us to break away from each other. I looked to the side, almost sure that I would find an outraged Rose or a shocked Christian or even raised eyebrows and blatant disapproval from Dimitri. I was wrong though.

"God, get a room. You're right next to a freaking hotel." A girl's voice called out as she strolled toward the secluded side of the building where Adrian and I were. She was a human in about her early twenties. She had long curly red hair, pale skin and eyes which were obscured by large black sunglasses. I found that a bit ridiculous considering that it was ten pm and everything that wasn't illuminated by streetlights was pitch black. Her black heels clicked across the pavement in a smooth steady rhythm, and I noticed that she kicked her feet back a little higher that necessary so that people would notice the red soles of her shoes that marked them as an expensive brand. Even with heels as high as those, she was still very short. In her perfectly manicured hands there was a pack of cigarettes. A tight, charcoal black cocktail dress clung to her curvy figure and she swung her hips to look more provocative.

I didn't know if she succeeded since Adrian barely spared her a glance. I didn't think I liked her though, she seemed extraordinarily pretentious. It could also be that I was practically hyperventilating with fear. We were so close to being caught. How could I have been so stupid? We weren't supposed to be making out in an alley. We didn't have time for that. That wasn't anyone we knew. It could have been though. We should not be sneaking around. What was I thinking? What was I thinking? I couldn't help but repeat the question over and over in my mind. I had a feeling that I would continue to do that until the words themselves lost all meaning.

I started walking towards the entrance, Adrian alongside me. Nobody said a word. Rudeness like that didn't deserve a response. Even if we _had_ been making a spectacle of ourselves with PDA like that, she didn't have to be so rude. On the way Adrian stopped so abruptly that I almost ran into him.

"Hey Sage?" He asked, softly. By his tone of voice I was petrified of what he was going to ask. Was he going to ask me to leave him alone? Or that I should learn to control myself? Or maybe he was going to tell me that our relationship wasn't working out because all I wanted to do was keep it hidden.

"Yes?" I called back in a few moments, hesitantly, afraid of whatever he was going to say next.

"What do you do to change Hopper from a rock to a lovable, adorable dragon?"

I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything for a while. All of _that_ had just happened and Adrian wanted to know how to transform a Callistana demon? His train of though was impossible to follow sometimes.

"What do you mean?"

"Ok, I forgot to mention that he was gorgeous. But I mean, we're his parents. He's swimming in a _very_ generous gene pool." Adrian exclaimed, a comically thoughtful expression on his handsome face. It really wasn't fair, I decided. No one should be able to make wacky comments and make it look like they're contemplating the meaning of life. I blamed his beautiful, expressive, emerald green eyes and high cheekbones. Or he was just be really good at acting and had a naturally expressive face. Maybe he had a career as an action star yet.

"No, not that. Why do you want to know how to transform Hopper?" I said, snapping us both back from our thoughts.

"Curious, that's all" He said, way too blasé for someone who was just merely curious.

"Adrian, I know you better than that. You don't do _anything_ for idle curiosity."

"I wanted to know if I could do it. Transform him myself. You know, since I am his father."

"When did we decide it's a boy?"

"Way too much of a troublemaker to be a girl" He waved off.

"Isn't that a little sexist? Hopper could be a very mischievous girl." I protested.

"Look, we'll call him a boy for now and if we discover that Hopper's a girl we can spend the rest of our lives knowing we were terrible parents, ok?"

"Deal." I couldn't help but grin.

"So do you think it's possible?" He said, a hopeful note in his tone. I hated to be the one to destroy that hope.

"No I don't. I know that Hopper has a connection with you but I think only witches have the ability to manipulate a Callistana demons shape. Sorry." I replied, quickly and smoothly.

"Can you show me anyway? Like I said, you look all graceful and peaceful and well, happy when you do magic." His eyes were like fire, but I couldn't decipher the emotion. It didn't matter though. Even without the aid of his incredible eyes, his words alone made me catch my breath. I noticed that I was admiring him a lot tonight, but I hadn't had the chance to when we were with the others. I guessed it was acceptable under these circumstances.

"Adrian, I don't know…" I was uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot.

"Hey, you don't have to actually change Hopper. Just make the gestures. And, if I can mime the hand movements I might be able to convince other scary witches that I'm some kind of hybrid vampire that can do human magic and kick their asses." He reasoned.

"Lovely." I couldn't help but retort.

It was ridiculous, but it had been a while since I'd seen him this happy. I let out a breath.

"Ok, pay attention. It's not much, a flick of the wrist and a few chants. Nothing too complicated." I barked out. I still felt a little strange when Adrian watched me perform magic even if it _wasn't_ technically doing anything this time. I focused and showed him the movements and he watched, like a diligent student.

Weirdly, I felt a rush of magic. I brushed it off though. I had distinctly left out a part of the spell. It was impossible that the spell could have worked.

Suddenly, I heard a screech. I looked over to Adrian and wondered if he had heard it too. He had. We took off to the dining room quickly, lengthening out strides and walking as quickly as we could without breaking out into a jog.

Once we got inside our suspicions were confirmed. Hopper was up on the table, eating off of Adrian's plate. Our friends were all staring at it,_ him_, petrified and shocked.

**A/N: GAh! I am so sorry. You all know what it's like to be busy so I'm not going to bother with excuses. I was going to update tomorrow but I'm expecting a clockwork princess delivery from amazon tomorrow so I seriously doubt that I'd get any work done. I know this is shorter than usual but the next chapter will be its usual length or even longer. I would like to thank Goode-Lover, Guest, MrsIvashkov, Guest, Sugarplumjellygum, Guest and RubyReed for the reviews! They are, unfortunately my fuel. As always us authors update faster with more updates. Have a beautiful week! **


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